DS is almost 10 and doing well in school - Level 5A for maths 5c for literacy but much better at reading than writing. CAT scores 128 VR 141NVRWe have spent a few weeks going through different types of questions and he gets anything with codes or maths pretty well and has a good grasp of the other types. We have done a few papers but he is a very reluctant/resistant to keep practicising past papers now he knows what he is doing. I wondered whether it is worth backing off a bit especially while the summer heat is here and just getting him to do some past papers nearer the time. He just needs to do 2 VR papers for the test- or am I taking too much of a risk?

He has also fallen out a bit with maths in school as he says it is boring- not sure if this is because he is not challenged enough or he does not like having to do anything repetetive or just because he is a normal almost 10 yr old boy. Any top tips would be appreciated.

I wanted to reply as your message is sitting here unanswered, but I suspect that the reason no-one has replied is that only you know your DS well enough to make the judgement call. His scores are good; his motivation lacking. Is that combination going to get him into the school you want? That depends on where you live and the scores and motivation of the children (and parents) he's competing against!

Since you ask for advice, I'd say back off a bit, give no more than one paper a week and don't try to make him do work on top of school homework. Just do what you can on a day when he has no homework, and then use the summer holidays to work on the papers that you consider will be most similar to the papers he's sitting.

Don't forget that every book he reads is informal preparation for the 11+, as is every walk in the woods and every documentary you watch together on TV, especially if you discuss it all with him. It's all increasing his vocabulary, which is the most important building block for his VR papers.

This is just my opinion. There will be others who think you should have him working every day, however grumpy it makes him.

Best of luck, hope you both have a happy and successful few months! RR

PS What area do you live in that he only has to do VR and no Maths or NVR at all?

My DS was exactly like your son ! - still is actually!!We really worried about his motivation as when he thinks he knows something he simply will not practice it,discuss it or show his working.We therefore did not make him practice papers because we knew he would rush through them and just make loads of daft mistakes but we did make him do the gcse foundation maths course ( and the exam)I really do think that doing the extra maths not only helped him in the 11+ exam but it also kept his lazy little mind active and was also somewhat humbling in that he realised that he did not know everything after all!!

I have had to back off as DD is in a reluctant phase. we aren't even managing a paper a week at the moment. The weather is not helping as no one is sleeping properly so we are all tired at the end of the day so forcing her to do 11+ stuff is a waste of time. I try and get her to do a couple of the 10 min tests if she has no homework but she usually does have some. We are going away for half term so I may try for a 'relaunch' when she gets back

Thanks for the reply - we are in Gloucestershire - so can sit one common test for the 4 school DS could possibly go to. DD did the test last year and passed with some tuition but only maybe 8 sessions. I am DIYing with DS but started in January - gut feeling is to back off a bit for now- but you are right about the informal stuff- Ds has recently become much more of a reader with the help of a kindle, we do word games and discuss vocabulary. I think too much pressure from me will turn DS off -I can guide him in the right direction but he has to come up with the motivation for himself.

DS is almost 10 and doing well in school - Level 5A for maths 5c for literacy but much better at reading than writing. CAT scores 128 VR 141NVRWe have spent a few weeks going through different types of questions and he gets anything with codes or maths pretty well and has a good grasp of the other types. We have done a few papers but he is a very reluctant/resistant to keep practicising past papers now he knows what he is doing. I wondered whether it is worth backing off a bit especially while the summer heat is here and just getting him to do some past papers nearer the time. He just needs to do 2 VR papers for the test- or am I taking too much of a risk?

He has also fallen out a bit with maths in school as he says it is boring- not sure if this is because he is not challenged enough or he does not like having to do anything repetetive or just because he is a normal almost 10 yr old boy. Any top tips would be appreciated.

Just spotted your post. Have you read "High scorers.. what do you think made the difference" in the Glos section ? Not wholly relevant to your situation, but some useful tips.

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